Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Craig Berube Gives Update on Goaltender Joseph Woll
The Toronto Maple Leafs have started this season strong despite an injury to No. 1 goaltender Joseph Woll, but now we may see him back very soon.
Through five games this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are 3-2-0 and have done so without their top goaltender in Joseph Woll, with backup Anthony Stolarz playing well to this point, tallying a 1.79 GAA and a .937 save percentage through four appearances. However, the team is excited to get Woll back in the fold at some point, as he has missed the entire regular season thus far due to a lower-body injury.
To start this week, the Maple Leafs battle the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets on back-to-back nights, and while Stolarz is locked in against the 3-1-0 Lightning, it appears there is optimism about a Woll return on Tuesday. When asked about it, Head Coach Craig Berube wouldn't commit to Woll but revealed there was a possibility he could start against the Blue Jackets.
Last year, Woll stood out whenever he was given the opportunity in Toronto, but injuries limited him to just 25 appearances, with Woll also missing Game 7 of a crucial series against the Boston Bruins; being a key piece in why Toronto lasted so long in the series, so his injury issues have certainly become a huge talking point in Toronto.
This past off-season, the Maple Leafs let former starter Ilya Samsonov walk in free agency, inking Stolarz to a deal to become the backup, but with him playing at a high level in the absence of Woll, it creates questions about the situation when No. 60 returns. Currently, it would be hard to take the Stanley Cup-winning Stolarz out of the net, but given the confidence this team got from Woll in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a year ago, he can't become the backup permanently so this could be an evolving situation as the season rolls on in Toronto.
For now, though, the team must be confident that they are getting 60 minutes of solid goaltending every night, with rookie Dennis Hildeby allowing just 2 goals on 23 shots in his lone start of the year, on top of Stolarz's great start. This may be a situation where Berube constantly changes his starting goaltender if they are both playing well, but by the time the playoffs roll around this year, the team will need a true #1, so we will see how this situation plays out as the season progresses.
